Oldrids to open Scunthorpe store after acquiring six-year lease

Long serving family business Oldrids & Downtown has confirmed the acquisition of a new department store in Scunthorpe.

Oldrids, which has been established since 1804, recently reached an agreement with Central England Co-operative on the sale of the former Westgate Department Store, acquiring the remaining six-year lease.

The move expands Oldrids retail estate to seven stores, whilst also confirming that it will take on all colleagues that currently work at the outlet, as well as the potential to create more jobs in the coming months.

While an exact date is yet to be finalised, the store will be officially reopened under the Oldrids banner early in October.

Marcus Meadows, joint managing director from Oldrids and Downtown, commented on the new venture: “We’re absolutely delighted to be taking on the department store. Being a local man, I am aware of the store and its colourful history so there’s a real emotional buy-in from my perspective.

“We have some exciting plans in terms of the layout of the store and the brands to be ranged and we aim to start to make this happen over the coming weeks. While ultimately we expect the Scunthorpe store to be predominantly fashion and homewares based, there will be an offer of furniture in place for the launch date which will help us to measure customer reaction.”

Oldrids & Downtown has six other stores, with two in Boston and Grantham, and one in Lincoln and Gainsborough.